Tom Coronel is aiming for strong results at the third round of the World Touring Car Championship season at Monza in Italy, and the Dutchman feels well prepared.
A crash in the first of the two races at the previous round in Zolder ruled Coronel out for the second race as well, meaning he left Belgium with no points.
Chasing an improved time of things at the home race of his ROAL Motorsport team, Coronel departed for Italy on Monday and tested the repaired BMW 320 TC at Adria and then at Monza on Thursday, covering hundereds of kilometres.
A race one crash put Coronel out of the second race at Zolder
“I left last Monday. Of course, I went to the workshop first to look at all the work the ROAL Motorsport Team led by Roberto Ravaglia and Umberto Grano has done to get the car back in shape again. A big hand to the huge effort by the mechanics.
“In order to be even better prepared for the races in Italy, we did some testing at the Adria circuit earlier this week. We completed more than 200 kilometres without any problems. That gave me a good feeling for the car that I got to learn better. Today, we did another 325 kilometres at Monza. That felt more than well, too, and also gave the team a lot of valuable information.”
“The car is really great and drives perfectly. I can't remember the last time when I had such extensive preparation for a race. However, a little issue is that we have only been testing in the dry so far and that rain is forecast for the weekend. But we will see.”
“[Monza] is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar of the championship. A circuit that allows for great slipstreaming, but also a circuit where you don't want the brakes on your car to fail. Often, you slow down from almost flat-out to a first or a second gear. This circuit only has seven corners, but they should by no means be underestimated. You can win a lot, but with a stupid move, you can also lose a lot.
“Of course, for the team, this race is really important. An Italian team at an Italian circuit in front of a huge Italian crowd. Of course, we will be doing everything to get a nice result here. Preparation was good and motivation is high, and for the rest, there is plenty to enjoy, too: food, great coffee, a little ice cream every now and then and the many nice things you get to see here.”
